Against the Flow is a new blog that will deal with serious and difficult topics, and occasionally with softer subjects too. It will side with politics that strives to do the right thing, as opposed to favouring quick and easy answers. Rather than practising mere public relations, it will encourage journalism that seeks the truth and explores what is really going on in the community. It will praise political leaders who take responsibility for their words, actions and mistakes. It will show respect for First Nations peoples for their great strengths and for the many injustices they are overcoming. It will salute those who recognize that our planet is both burning up and drowning due to climate change and undertake to fight on behalf of Planet Earth. 

Things are looking up for Canada.

Canadians are more united and patriotic than at any moment in our history.

The country’s first ministers have made it plain that they are prepared to fight back against Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The new leader of the federal Liberal Party, Mark Carney, to be sworn in Friday as the next Prime Minister, won his party’s election with a landslide victory last Sunday.

Carney took 86 per cent of the Liberal Party votes, compared to just eight per cent for his nearest rival, Chrystia Freeland, three per cent for Karina Gould and three for Frank Baylis.

The strength of Carney’s win gave him room to manoeuvre in the choice of his cabinet which is to be announced on Friday. The new cabinet is expected to be much smaller than the over-sized last cabinet (39) of Justin Trudeau. Carney’s cabinet will reflect war footing with about 20 ministers to battle Trump and his tariffs.

Freeland has already occupied all the senior portfolios in the Trudeau governments, foreign affairs, finance minister and deputy prime minister. She is unlikely to receive any of these this time; however, an ambassadorship to a country such as Ukraine, where she is highly respected due to her advocacy for Ukraine and against Russia’s Vladimir Putin, when working as a journalist there earlier in her life.

As Canada nears the day when she renews her national leadership, followed by a federal election, U.S. President Donald Trump demonstrated on Tuesday his true character with his disturbing congressional address.

Trump wanted to give the impression he is a man of steel. Certainly, his well-choreographed speech showed that he is no slouch. Yet, by week’s end his “Mr. Disturber” approach to his imposition of tariffs began to melt.

On Thursday, he put off all tariffs against Canada and Mexico for a month. He backed off, not out of the goodness of his heart, but because the American stock market, something he watches very carefully, has tanked. We should not underestimate Trump, but in portraying himself as a man of steel, he has shown Canada and the world that he is a bully.

Like all bullies, he is a coward.
 
This week at the Capitol, Trump was like a puppet master introducing hard luck individuals in the galleries, his voice dripping with emotion. Trump preyed on the tough circumstances of these folks to bring credit to himself. All the while, he surrounded himself with billionaires he calls his friends, many of whom he appointed as members of his cabinet.

There are plenty of signs that Canadians are fed up with Donald Trump and his buddies and are not going to take it anymore. None the less, this sentiment is being expressed very visibly with good old-fashioned patriotism. Here are a few examples:

Note the response to Connor McDavid’s overtime goal to win the Four Nations Face Off in Boston. This writer was watching the big game in a Canadian-owned Boston Pizza outlet, when the greatest hockey player in the world scored his goal. Every man and woman launched into gleeful shouts, hugging complete strangers in triumph.

Secondly, all five of Canada’s surviving former prime ministers, three of them Conservative and two Liberal, urged Canadians to fly the red and white Maple Leaf flag on Feb. 15th the 60th anniversary of the blessing of the flag during Lester Pearson’s time as PM.

Across Canada, the Maple Leaf Flag began sprouting in doorways and driveways. One interesting case in point occurred in Saint Andrews, N.B., where Mary Casement, who dresses the stuffed beaver outside her home according to the season and the weather, happily festooned her pet beaver in Maple Leaf flags.

A third example can be found far away.

Canadian men’s soccer national team head coach Jesse Marsch, an American, issued a strong rebuke to President Trump’s comments on Canada potentially becoming the 51st state of the United States. Marsch called Trump’s persistent comments “unsettling and frankly insulting.”

“Canada is a strong, independent nation that is deep-rooted in decency…and it’s a place that values high ethics and respect,” Marsch said.
Bravo Mr. Marsch.

New stars and Maple Leaf flags have emerged in the Canadian firmament during this time of uncertainty and calls for action against U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariffs.

Who in Canada would not be pleased to see five living former Prime Ministers, both Conservatives and Liberals: Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, Jean Chretien, Paul Martin, and Stephen Harper urging Canadians to fly the Canadian flag this Saturday for the 60th Anniversary of the official launch of the Maple Leaf Drapeau.

We also see that this time is one for special pride in our national game, with our best hockey players competing now in the Four Nations Face-Off with those of Sweden, Finland and the USA. More about this later.

Many of the new stars are among the Premiers of the provinces and we will consider several of them here. In later columns, the Against the Flow blog will go on to consider some of the political players at the federal level. For now, though, the Premiers stack up as follows:
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David Eby of British Columbia has been standing tall. He voices clear opposition to Mr. Trump (hereafter Trump) and his total disrespect for our country’s sovereignty. Premier Eby has also been on the ball in terms of continued development of the BC economy in his reaction to Trump’s announced 50+% tariff on BC’s aluminum production at Kitimat. Eby notes that BC’s efforts to market its aluminum in Europe are already well advanced, and alternate markets are popular among all the Premiers.

Manitoba’s Wab Kinew has been very impressive, such as impeccably fielding questions from reporters in Washington DC in both Canadian official languages. He deftly handled questions about who exactly he met in the US capital, by smiling and pointing out that as a person with some broadcast experience he knows it would make for very boring television if he rhymed off a whole list of names.

This was a kindly and much more effective way of answering, rather than delivering an abrupt “No.”  Kinew is currently the Premier with the highest approval ratings among the thirteen Premiers.

Doug Ford of Ontario, while his election call remains somewhat suspect, has continued his fight to head Trump off at the pass. He was able to prompt other Premiers to stiffen their backbone with his threats to cut off the sale of American alcohol products and drastically reduce power exports to the States. Such counter measures are on the back burner for now. Meanwhile, Premier Ford will probably receive the big majority he is seeking in the Ontario election.

As the newcomer among the Premiers, Susan Holt cannily did not attempt to jump loudly onto the national stage. Yet, Premier Holt has accomplished a great deal in her first one hundred days in office, such as a universal school breakfast program for the province’s public schools; a rent cap of 3% effective Feb. 1.; and a 10% power rebate on electricity usage as of January of this year. She also continues to work in her travels South of the border on behalf of New Brunswick’s strong industries including agricultural produce, processed foodstuffs like French Fries; seafood; lumber and other forestry products; and refined oil products like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
 
Premier Andrew Furey of Newfoundland and Labrador stands strongly for Canadian sovereignty, even though his wife is an American and he did his residency as a physician in the United States. Mr. Furey shows his strong commitment to Canada while reminding Americans about Newfoundlanders’ warm hospitality shown during the grounding of American passenger jets at Gander in 911. Who could argue with that?
 
Conservative Premier of Prince Edward Island, Dennis King is like the Little Engine that Could, chugging off to the New England states selling his province’s wares from potatoes to seafood.
 
Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan, the dean of the Premiers, has come into his own during this tariff-fighting period. He points out very clearly the importance of his province’s heavy production of potash, a vital ingredient for the US and Canadian agriculture industry.
Moe leads the province that is one of the world’s foremost bread baskets, even more important since Ukraine grain exports have had to be curtailed because of Russian’s invasion of that country.
 
Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Danelle Smith appears to have largely folded the tent on her “go-it-alone” campaign away from the Team Canada approach of most of her colleagues. With even some of her own Albertans disagreeing with her strident pro-Alberta approach, Smith took a relatively quiet role during the Premiers visit to Washington this past week.
 
One of the interesting consequences of the Trump tariff threat, has been Quebec’s interest very much in line with the rest of the country. Quebec Premier Francois Legault has a massive problem on his hands with the 50%+ Trump tariff on aluminum products, used heavily in the American automobile and aircraft industries, among others. The aluminum industry employs hundreds of thousands of Quebecers in well-paying jobs. Legault, never one to embrace Canada in the normal scheme of things, sees the value now of being an active Team Canada player.
 
The Premier with the most to be proud about this week is Nova Scotia’s Tim Houston , who, in addition to being one of the first Atlantic Premiers declaring his readiness to pull U.S. alcohol products off the shelves of government liquor stores, had three terrific Nova Scotia hockey players: Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Brad Marchand playing prominent roles in the Four Nations Face-Off tournament featuring Canada, Sweden, Finland and the U.S.A.
 
Anyone who saw in person or on television the Four Nations game Wednesday night between Sweden and Canada, probably felt their heart swell as they saw, playing together on Team Canada, the Captain, Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid, Assistant Captain and arguably now the best hockey player in the world.
 
Looking sharp in their red Canada retro jerseys, McDavid and Crosby shone throughout the game. McDavid had one assist, and ‘Sid the Kid’ had three assists, including one on the overtime victory goal by Mitch Marner. In fact, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston had every reason to be proud of his Nova Scotia boys, with Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Marchand each scoring a goal.

The recent crisis with Donald J. Trump burdening Canada and the rest of the world with his damaging and irrational tariff threats and “off the top” proposals, reinforces the need for CBC/Radio Canada to provide a strong and unifying voice for this country.

Marie-Philippe Bouchard, the new CBC/Radio Canada President, has just demonstrated her skills on behalf of the national broadcaster, emphasizing that the corporation does not operate only to chronicle the politics of the nation, but must also reflect and encourage this country’s unity and rich culture. She spoke Jan. 29 on The Current with CBC radio’s Master Interviewer, Matt Galloway. This was Bouchard’s first opportunity to speak to the Canadian nation, and she did an admirable job.

As Canadian political leaders struggle to maintain  a “Team Canada” approach in the face of Trump, CBC/Radio Canada is a vital force just now.

President Donald J. Trump is on a flight too far with his outrageous reaction to the U.S. airplane-helicopter disaster. Trump finally appears to have turned off many Americans, not to mention Canadians, with his paranoia and obsessive blame game.
 
In the early hours of Thursday morning, Trump began an astonishing rant, blaming Democrats and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) employees for the midair collision between the airliner and the U.S. army helicopter.  The two aircraft crashed into the Potomac River, near the Reagan Washington International Airport. Sixty-seven people are presumed dead.

American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, collided midair with the army helicopter, carrying three people. American figure skaters, coaches and family members who had been at a skating camp in Wichita, were among those who died.

The dangerous mix of Donald Trump, Prime Minister Trudeau’s departure and the coming Federal election, is putting huge pressure on Cabinet Ministers and members of the Liberal caucus to pick a winner in the current Liberal Leadership race.

Of the seven candidates thus far, Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland are the front-runners, with the credible, youthful Karina Gould, a distant third.

With no strong Quebec candidate in the running for the party leadership the choice made by two senior Quebec Ministers becomes very important. Both Francois-Phillippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and Melanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, have declared for Carney. Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc remains the most senior francophone minister in the Cabinet.

Among other senior ministers also supporting Carney are the Labour Minister, Steve MacKinnon, a bilingual Ottawa area MP, originally from PEI. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, the minister most identified with the controversial Carbon Tax, is now saying he is “forced to recognize that the Carbon Tax is “very unpopular.”

Midst the unprecedented swirl of major International and national events, New Brunswick new Premier, Susan Holt has matters well in hand, moving her province well beyond the dreary days of former Premier Blaine Higgs.

On the national stage, Premier Holt has taken a solid “Team Canada” approach and fit in well with New Brunswick’s other main political figure, federal Finance and Intergovernmental minister, Dominic LeBlanc.

Premier Susan Holt has already delivered the central message to New Brunswickers about her government, turning politics here from “me” to “we” – throwing the “I” approach to governing of former Premier Blaine Higgs into the ash can in favour of a commendable “team approach.”

The team ethic is already very evident in her reliance on her cabinet colleagues and her caucus members. It was clear right from election night when she rhymed off virtually every member of her team in the first blush of victory.

After nine years as Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau deserves our thanks for his service in a very challenging time.

Since last summer, the Against the Flow blog has twice called on the Prime Minister to leave. Mr. Trudeau ignored this small voice and that of many others. To the end, he believed that he was the best person and political campaigner to combat Pierre Poilievre, the Leader of the Conservative Party, and the dangerous threats against Canada of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump.

As argued earlier in the space, Trudeau will not be remembered for one great accomplishment such as that which his father, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau achieved with the patriation of the Canadian constitution and the Charter of Rights.
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Yet, Justin Trudeau has had many achievements, including:

• Managing the COVID pandemic in the early 2020’s.
• Introducing several progressive social programs, notably the national Day Care program which has been of great benefit to many young Canadian families.
• Improving the lot of Indigenous peoples through openness to negotiations, especially on child welfare. Quality drinking water is a fundamental human necessity and although efforts are still insufficient, the Trudeau government made strides with First Nations communities toward improving water services.
• Helping make Canada a world leader in combatting climate change. We will return to this topic below because Trudeau did not respond quickly enough to the very real backlash against the Carbon Tax that he and his government implemented and chose to stick with.
• And lastly, something more personal, that despite his separation from his spouse, he continued addressing the demands of his office with strength and without complaint.
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On the negative side, the factors which ultimately outweighed the good he was doing as Prime Minister, included the following:

• Failing to appreciate fully the impact on average Canadians of the sharply rising cost of groceries and housing.
• Making serious errors of judgment in the management of people closest to him in government. Four cabinet ministers, Jody Wilson-Raybould, Jane Philpott, Dr. Carolyn Bennett, and David Lametti, either left the government or were dropped from it.  The loss of both Bennett and Lametti contributed to the key Liberal by-election losses in St. Paul’s and Lasalle ridings in Toronto and Montreal, respectively. Finally, Trudeau’s provoked the resignation of his long-loyal Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland. This was the ultimate undoing of his Prime Ministership.
• Obviously, Trudeau’s insufficient attention to caucus relations also contributed greatly to the palace revolt of so many of his MP’s.
• As mentioned above, the government placed a strong priority on Climate change, but Trudeau seemed blind to the damage being done to him and his government by the relentless campaign by Opposition Leader Poilievre against the Carbon Tax. Trudeau’s government never properly defended or explained the tax. Nor did the government adequately explain the compensatory deposits made directly into citizens’ bank accounts for the cost of the Carbon Tax.
• Lastly, Trudeau departed from good straight talk in favor of what in this space we have called “Marshmallow Talk.”  This contributed to the increasing sentiment against Trudeau which can only be called hatred. Evidence of this near the home base of this blog, was a very large sign outside a modest house, saying, “F*ck Trudeau.” For whatever reason, our Prime Minister could not read the writing on the wall about this this sentiment which would ultimately destroy his political career.